The invention relates in general to the health and beauty industry, and devices used therewith. More particularly, the invention relates to a head and neck support for use in supporting the head of a person over a salon shampoo bowl while receiving a shampoo or other hair or facial treatments.
As known, the clients of a beauty salon, for example, who receive any type of a treatment or procedure which requires the washing or wetting of their hair, or a facial treatment, typically recline in a chair and place their neck through and onto a U-shaped opening formed in the side of a shampoo bowl, and lean their head back into the bowl. Without support, this posture causes the neck of the client to lie at an unnatural angle and may strain the client""s neck, spine, and back muscles. The weight of the client""s head with wetted hair combined with the forces exerted by a cosmetologist applying treatment or washing the hair can hyperextend the client""s neck causing strain to neck muscles, damage to cervical vertebrae, and retard the flow of oxygen to the brain causing strokes or transient ischemic attacks.
Salon sink radiculopathy, or injury to nerve roots leading from the spinal cord to the extremities, is a medical condition believed to pose an increased risk of injury to people with problems such as arthritis or prior neck injuries resulting from traffic, work, or sports accidents. Treatments for radiculopathy include medication, therapy, and even surgery. To prevent neck and spinal discomfort or injury to a client, therefore, a cosmetologist oftentimes has to physically grasp and support the client""s head during any such treatments or procedures which in turn induces a strain in the cosmetologist""s back, neck, and arms, and may also lead to him/her coming into contact with the chemicals and/or solutions being used for the client""s treatment.
Prior attempts have been made to deal with this problem. For example, the patent to Page, U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,542, discloses a shampoo headrest with a support post atop of which is a cup onto which the client lays their head. The cup provides some support for the client""s head, and allows the cosmetologist to use both of their hands during a hair care treatment, for example. Problems with the device of the ""542 patent, however, are that it appears to be complicated to install, does not provide any neck support for the user, provides little support to the entire head as the client""s head rests only on the small area of the cup, and there is little room allowed for the client to turn their head without otherwise falling off of the support. Moreover, as the cosmetologist must lift the client""s head for rinsing, the design of the device makes it difficult to rinse the client""s hair, and it appears this device would be uncomfortable for use with perm rollers and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,820 to Varallo, discloses a hairdressing head support which mounts on a shampoo bowl. The head support holds the client""s head upright while partially enveloping the client""s head. The device of Varallo has disadvantages in that the customer""s head appears to remain upright, thus allowing the client""s face and/or shoulders to get wet when their hair is being washed and/or rinsed. The ""820 device is also complex with many parts to adjust, and makes the rinsing and moving of the client""s head difficult.
Another headrest for shampoo bowls and sinks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,711, which illustrates a rectangular mesh strip which spans a shampoo bowl and attaches to either side thereof. The mesh strip may be adjusted to fit varying sizes of bowls and may be moved to various positions relative to the front of the bowl. The disadvantages of this device, however, are that it provides no support to the client""s neck, cannot be adjusted in height, perm rods and rollers, and possibly the stylist""s fingernails, may get caught in the device, the client""s hair may also could get caught in the device, and the device makes it difficult to rinse the client""s hair.
The sealed neck support for shampoo bowls of U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,580 is adapted to be installed in the U-shaped indention in the side of a shampoo bowl, and is designed to cushion the client""s neck. The product clips onto the U-shaped portion of the bowl opening, and has a membrane which forms a leak barrier to keep the client from getting wet. A disadvantage of the ""580 device, however, is that it does not provide support for the client""s head as it only cushions or seals against the neck in the U-shaped opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,303 illustrates a head support for a salon basin having a perforated headrest plate that sits inside the shampoo bowl, and is formed to be concave to fit the client""s head. The plate is attached to the front rim of the bowl with bendable hooks and is further supported by a threaded support member which is adjustable in length and engages the inner surface of the bowl. The device of the ""303 patent appears to be shaped in such a manner so as to not allow the client""s head to turn completely from side to side during shampooing or rinsing. Further, the holes in the plate appear to be large enough to allow hair to pass therethrough during hair treatment procedures, the device provides no support to the neck, and the height of the device relative to the top of the shampoo bowl cannot be raised or lowered for various hair and facial treatments.
The permanent wave headrest attachment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,216 was designed for supporting the head while rinsing permanent waves. This device provides a plastic frame covered with a mesh panel to support the head. The device hooks to the shampoo bowl via a rigid strap hanger which adjusts to fit various bowls. The design of the ""216 patent appears to be such that hair and rollers would easily be caught in the mesh panel, however. In addition, the device is suitable for use only for a shampoo bowl with a downturned lip at an outer edge, therefore use of the device with a bowl of alternate edge construction does not appear possible.
What is needed, but seemingly unavailable from the known devices, is a head and neck support adapted for use as a salon sink or shampoo bowl, that can be easily fit to any such sink or bowl, and which fully supports the head of a client to prevent hyperextehsion of the client""s neck and damage to cervical vertebrae. Also needed is a head and neck support so constructed and installed that a cosmetologist or other beauty care professional need not physically support the patron""s head during the desired treatments or procedures.
An improved head and neck support for use with a salon shampoo bowl which overcomes some of the design deficiencies of the art is disclosed. The head and neck support of this invention is constructed and arranged to be suspended within the shampoo bowl and to support a salon client""s head over the shampoo bowl in hands-free fashion with the client""s neck in a neutral position, and which also will reduce the likelihood of strains and discomfort to both the client and the hair stylist.
This is accomplished by providing a head and neck support for use with a shampoo bowl comprising a head support piece, at least one elongate strap, and at least one, and preferably a pair, of grasping elements affixed to the at least one strap. The grasping elements are each sized and shaped to be passed over the edge or lip of the shampoo bowl side walls, and the support piece is suspended within the bowl by the at least one strap and the grasping elements as they each grasp the top edge of the shampoo bowl side wall(s), and by an elongate tongue extended from the support piece which is sized and shaped to be passed through and supported on a U-shaped neck depression or opening defined within a front wall of the shampoo bowl. The support piece may also comprise an elongate shelf with a series of slots defined therein for passing the at least one strap therethrough.
The head and neck support device of this invention, constructed and suspended within the shampoo bowl as described above, may thus be raised or lowered relative to the plane of the shampoo bowl by adjusting the length of the at least one strap, which thus enables the position of the client""s head to be changed during various hair and/or facial treatments. The shape of the head pan allows clients to easily turn their head during a hair treatment without the head otherwise falling off of the head and neck support, or otherwise catching any rollers, perm rods, and other accessories used for either the hair or facial treatment the client is receiving. The device is also designed to allow the hair and the head to be easily rinsed, and may be used for multiple procedures, such as shampooing, rinsing, perms, waxing, facials, and the like.
The design of the head support piece also allows the cosmetologist to move their hands freely about the client""s head and within the bowl, and allows the cosmetologist to use both of their hands during any such procedures without having to otherwise physically support the client""s head themselves, thus reducing the likelihood of back and neck strain to the cosmetologist. An additional feature of the head and neck support device of this invention is that it also allows cosmetologists to minimize the contact of their hand(s) with any harsh chemicals, for example a bleach, that might be used in the treatment the client is receiving as the hand(s) are not used to support the client""s head.
The head and neck support is preferably made of durable materials which will be impervious to chemicals of the type used in the salon, yet comfortable to the user when their head is received thereon and supported during the desired beauty care treatments. The device is designed to fit a wide variety and size of shampoo bowls, and the tongue of the support piece is narrow enough to fit in nearly all U-shaped neck openings of such shampoo bowls, yet is still wide enough to provide adequate and comfortable support for the client""s neck during the use of the device. The arc of the neck piece has also been shaped to provide the client maximum comfort, and the device is easily cleaned.
The head and neck support also includes a shelf extended therefrom and through which the strap or straps used with the device is/are threaded, and ribbing on the underside of the head support piece to provide maximum strength thereto. The device is simple and easy to install within and remove therefrom virtually all known types of shampoo bowls.